[OFFICIAL] Kaval / Team Laycool Discussion Thread

[Ferbian]

Absolutely no interest after last night, I guess he's a lot like Bryan Danielson, he has the in-ring ability, but you really have to go deeper before you get a proper interest in his microphone skills.

He seemed a lot like he was out of place last night, I think it's partially due to his pro's rather than anything else, but I think it'll be interesting to see more of him, he has potential to make it in WWE, but I'm just not seeing him winning it just yet.

 

[Hawkeye]

One thing's for sure,he won't be in any of those awful pro-rookie tag matches.I really hate those,they do nothing for the rookies.This trio has the potential to be explosively hilarious,but i think the whole hazing thing might have messed that up.

 

[Ice Cold]

I've never been real into the indy scene so I've heard very very little about this guy. From what I gather listening to all of you he is the best thing since sliced bread. This may or may not be true but my first impression of him was only luke warm. He had a good look, I didn't mind that. I will say however when he was on the mic I couldn't help but keep thinking this guy sounded like he was out of a bad Japanese movie, and his voice was an English dub. I don't recall anything he did wrestling wise on the show and this is but a day later so I can't say he showed me anything impressive there either. I would like to be shown otherwise, but I don't have much use looking back to anything he's done previously. If he can cut it in the WWE I will believe the hype.

 

[billm75]

I think he's going to be used wrong, and one of the first three to be voted off the island (so to speak). It's a shame, since from what I've been hearing, he's a great in ring performer. But giving him Laycool as his "pros"???? McCool is pure unfiltered shit on a microphone, and only so-so in the ring. Layla, well, at least she's built like a woman and can wrestle a little bit. Either way, this guy has a very short shelf-life in my opinion thanks to what they've done to him from the beginning.

 

[TJ Matics]

They should use him as the destruction of Lay-Cool,
Though I think it was supposed to be Beth.P before she got injured,
She always has the size advantage and he almost never does,
Either way
Him and Gail Kim would of owned NXT2

 

[Trill Co$by]

They should use him as the destruction of Lay-Cool,
Though I think it was supposed to be Beth.P before she got injured,
She always has the size advantage and he almost never does,
Either way
Him and Gail Kim would of owned NXT2

Why would you give a guy as talented as Kaval a nonsense talentless wrestler like Gail Kim? Gail's nothing but a copy cat who takes moves and doesn't even do them right. For example, the way she botches the Sole Food each and every week.

If WWE was to give him a different female pro than Laycool, I would've gone with Beth Phoenix or some other diva that actually matters.

Still though, it's better than sticking him with the Bella Twins

 

[BetaMaleQ]

Why would you give a guy as talented as Kaval a nonsense talentless wrestler like Gail Kim? Gail's nothing but a copy cat who takes moves and doesn't even do them right. For example, the way she botches the Sole Food each and every week.

I hate to disagree with you there, but Gail has more experience prior to her showing up in the WWE in 2002 than most of the Divas combined. I know experience doesn't necessarily translate to talent, but for her, it does. I remember seeing her in old vids as "La Felina" in Canada and thinking how dope it was that she was as agile and as talented as some cruiserweights. I don't want to make this a Gail Kim thread, so I'll leave it at that.

As far as Kaval/Senshi/Low-Ki goes, this guy is way too talented. Watch his matches in Noah in Japan vs Kanemura. Those are instant classics!!

 

[Money Inc.]

About time we get to see Low Ki back on television!

I'm a huge fan of his in-ring style.

If Homicide is as upset as reports say he is.. I think WWE should make a run at him and try to reunite him with Low Ki

 

[Cmac3311]

Kaval should win NXT but I don't think he will, this pairing is very entertaining though and I've been watching Kaval since his days as Low-Ki in TNA, the crowd was really into the Riley vs. Kaval match and I think this guy has potential to be successful character in the WWE

 

[D-Man]

Everyone is hopping on the Kaval bandwagon just like they did for Danielson. The guy's got experience oozing out of his ass hole when it comes to in-ring skill, but he'd better grow a personality and QUICK. Even though the guy can MORE THAN go in the ring (I was extremely impressed with his intensity and moveset), his too-serious-for-television attitude is tough to latch onto, considering that the guy isn't an ominous presence. Normally, when you have a wrestler who is all business and no charisma, he's usually a large presence with "kick-ass" written all over his face. But Kaval is a smaller wrestler with a strange persona that of a martial arts being.

I think he needs to open up a bit and embrace the excessive amount of personality that Laycool is adding to his repertoire. Even though they come off as a bit annoying, they're gorgeous women with TONS of charisma, and Kaval needs to take a lesson from that and build on it.

We've seen it a million times... you could be the greatest wrestler in the world, but if you cannot get the audience to connect with you on a personal level, you might as well start asking if customers want fries with that.

 

[Ferbian]

I agree D-man, while I don't necessarily jump on the Kaval bandwagon instantly, because I'm still more for supporting Alex Riley, I do believe that he has a great in-ring ability, but like Bryan Danielson would be considered someone who hasn't got much charisma.

But he might surprise us, just like Bryan Danielson, the thing that surprises me although is that we're not seeing Michael Cole somehow ranting on Kaval neither, while I don't mind it cause it kills the whole deal of Bryan Danielson vs Michael Cole, it is still something that left me scratching my head.

Like I said in the review thread, Kaval and LayCool has slightly grown on me, they seem like they could very well run with it, something just tells me Kaval is gonna snap eventually.

 

[D-Man]

Like I said in the review thread, Kaval and LayCool has slightly grown on me, they seem like they could very well run with it, something just tells me Kaval is gonna snap eventually.

Herein lies the problem. Doesn't everyone remember that there is only two weeks until the first pros poll? Time is of the essence here. I doubt that the audience is keeping the idea that Kaval might snap in the back of their minds. We are an impatient generation and want to be entertained NOW, not LATER. This guy had better get in the ballgame quickly or else he'll be bagging groceries at the local supermarket during the day while he's wrestling in dark matches at Japanese gymnasiums at night time.

 

[Mr. Jhak]

I am really impressed with Kaval. He's fast, small, powerful, and very interesting to watch. He is def my favorite for winning the NXT. After watching the first episode, I got a kick out of seeing lay cool with Kaval, it makes for some intriguing television. He goes out and does his thing while the girls look cute for ratings and "take the credit". At first and on paper, I didn't like the team up with the trio, but the dichotomy between lay cool and Kaval are eye catching. It's like looking at a train wreck, it's horrible, but you can't look away, because it's beautiful.... Wait what?

 

[Greenlight13]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who is entertained by their pairing. I was initially hesitant of Danielson and Miz like everyone, but I immediately realised Miz was the perfect pro for him and I've done almost the same thing here with Kaval. I first heard he was getting Laycool and thought: "seriously?" But I've had time to think on it, and I've seen what they're doing with it, and I find them a pretty funny trio.

Knowing Low Ki to be as intense as he is ("You Will Respect Low Ki" and punching a door" and seeing how they're treating him, you get a sense of legitimacy about the when will he snap issue. After seeing him smile for the first time in his whole career during the NXT Interview, I've come to realize he's probably actually a nice guy, I don't think we're in danger of a non-kayfabe snap or him exploding backstage and quitting, which almost makes it more entertaining, because I know he's cool with it and so they won't hold back.

It's just straight-up funny seeing this intense warrior as the pet of Lay-Cool, and they are, to their credit, really putting him over rather than giving him abuse. They just want him to carry their belts and stuff, they aren't putting down is in-ring game, and they spent all of their time on commentary for his match against Alex Riley praising him. The pink t-shirt thing sounds hilarious and I await seeing him wearing it.

As for his chances of winning? Well, he ran away with the online vote of who was most impressive for week 2, but Percy Watson seems the most popular, and Alex Riley the most WWE-ready, even if Kaval is far and away the best in the ring. He absolutely carried his match against Riley and then lost after a single move. From reading the results from last night seems the same happened with Eli Cottonwood. And the crowd are popping for his move-set, so he's fine there. The pros are also giving him praise, so he's set there.

I think he, Lucky Cannon and Percy Watson will win the fan polls, and he, Alex Riley and Michael McGuillicutty will lead the pros polls, so he's in with a definite shot on both sides. I just think he'll get the Daniel Bryan treatment and they'll intentionally screw him out of the win when they realize he doesn't need it.

NXT is to make a star, and Daniel Bryan became one before the show was over, and I see the same happening to Kaval. He can make it without winning this show. A Percy Watson or a Lucky Cannon needs to make the final 3 in order to have legitimacy in the same way David Otunga needed it.

 

[Dave]

Kaval seems like the guy that the WWE are pinning their hopes on at the minute and seeing him in the ring, I can’t help but feel that they are making an oversight.

Now, please don’t get me wrong. I love watching the guy. He is very varied, dynamic and exiting in the ring butt he looks so green, doesn’t he? I mean, with every punt he made to Cottonwood last night, I couldn’t help but feel that Cottonwood was just going to snap and beat the shit out of him. With every clubbing blow, I shuddered a little, thinking how painful it must have been to be Eli Cottonwood. The fact of the matter is that Kaval is supposed to be the best wrestling talent in the NXT ranks and he could end up really hurting someone if he doesn’t learn how to perform without putting health of others at risk.

Watching him in the ring last night though, I really was impressed. That stomp to the back of Cottonwood’s neck looked really fucking painful and if it is done safely, then it is definitely something that I could get into seeing. However, with Kaval it really does come back to being able to perform safely. I don’t pretend to know what it is like to wrestle a match at that level but I do know how painful it can be to be kicked repeatedly by someone who has no care whether it hurts you or not. If he works on not being so still then I definitely being a force to be reckoned with in NXT.

 

[mrbrightside]

I love the pairing of him and LayCool, but I feel he needed to get a win in one of his first two matches, simply because if WWE is banking on fans to raise him in the polls, they would need to see his whole moveset, which includes the Warrior's Way (even though we saw the modified version, people not watching FCW on YouTube or any of his older stuff won't know what the real WW looks like). He'll still get high in the fan polls, but will it be enough? I know its all fake, but yeah.

Low Ki/Kaval has gotten me interested in wrestling again

 

[TheLunatic]

I missed Kaval's match yesterday night, so I can't really comment on how he looked. But, the match he had against AJ Styles in Japan reminds me all the time that wrestling is an art form.

I still have high hopes from Kaval.

 

[Dagger Dias]

This has to be the most bizarre pairing so far in either season of NXT. I feel really sorry for Kaval to be stuck with two mean divas as his pro's. Then again I suppose the whole point of the pairing is to generate support for Kaval so he can succeed once the season ends. His role reminds me a little of Bryan's from last season in the sense that he too had a pro who treated him badly in The Miz. It's very different to have divas as pro's and it's certainly caught my attention. I'll be looking forward to the moment when Kaval stands up to LayCool for treating him the way they are. I believe that he will make it to the final four at the very least, otherwise WWE would not have tried to get fan support by sticking him with LayCool as his pro's. They obviously have big plans for Kaval after NXT.

 

[Goliath Uterus]

Kaval seems like the guy that the WWE are pinning their hopes on at the minute and seeing him in the ring, I can’t help but feel that they are making an oversight.

Now, please don’t get me wrong. I love watching the guy. He is very varied, dynamic and exiting in the ring butt he looks so green, doesn’t he? I mean, with every punt he made to Cottonwood last night, I couldn’t help but feel that Cottonwood was just going to snap and beat the shit out of him. With every clubbing blow, I shuddered a little, thinking how painful it must have been to be Eli Cottonwood. The fact of the matter is that Kaval is supposed to be the best wrestling talent in the NXT ranks and he could end up really hurting someone if he doesn’t learn how to perform without putting health of others at risk.

Dave, you know I love your posts and I respect your opinion but I gotta comment on this. Kaval, also known as Low Ki is a guy who was trained by Homicide, one of the stiffer guys on the TNA roster, so from the start, he was taught a "strong style" (stiff style) and thats all he knows, now he's definitley gonna have to tone it down for the WWE, and he has, but I think the reason that they haven't made him stop pulling those kicks is because one, he wont ever kick anyone in an area that will cause a serious injury (at least not hard) and two, because it is what will help him get over with the crowd. Ever since the first time I saw Low Ki, the thing that stood out, was those kicks, they look brutally painful and (ya gotta admit it) very cool. So I think Low Ki will do fine in NXT and unless he ends up injuring someone with a stiff move, I think they've toned down Low Ki as much as they will during his tenure in the WWE.

 

[The Doctor]

I like Kaval. He's slowly winning me over. But man does he need to be more careful. The Warrior's Way was a sick move, but did you see him slip and botch? That could make for a nasty, nasty accident. I hope he gets it together soon.

Apart from that, he was pretty impressive this week. I dig his voice, though he's no Percy Watson. He is a good pick for number one, and it shows that the fan voting is pretty legit. I think that he'll fare better than Daniel Bryan did. Imagine if, when Bryan returns to the E, they let him and Kaval face off, hopefully on PPV. That would be a match to remember!

 

[X]

Not sure why some of you are freaking out over the "botch" of the Warrior's Way that Kaval did, because quite honestly that was barely even a botch. He slipped slightly on the finish, but he still hit the move with full impact and got the cover, and the crowd dug it. Yeah he slipped off his chest a bit at the end, but shit, it's bound to happen with sweaty wrestlers out there flying around. Kaval/Low-Ki is one of the best workers you could ask for in the ring as he delivers a great and stiff looking offense while still protecting his opponent. I've long been a big fan of the guy, and I love that he's getting time on WWE TV right now (and it's not on an episode of Velocity as a jobber!). I'm very glad he was ranked number one and I'd think that would tell us he's going to be the focus of this season like Danielson was for the first season, and I can't wait to watch it unfold.

I'm glad the WWE has finally decided to start snatching up some of the best wrestlers on the indies like Danielson and Low-Ki, it shows they're starting to listen and remember that many of their biggest stars were not WWE creations, but people who were brought in because of their skill and popularity shown in other promotions like Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin or CM Punk. I hope Low-Ki (and Danielson upon his inevitable WWE return) is able to showcase both in the ring and on the microphone why the guy is such a unique and wonderful character and worker in this business. If played right, the WWE could craft a guy like Low-Ki into the next Ricky Steamboat.

So yeah, my expectations are obviously quite high, but I feel confident in both Kaval/Low-Ki and the WWE that he's going to succeed on this level.

 

[klunderbunker]

Well I think 1st is too high but he's pretty certainly in the top three. My main criticism is his lack of variety in his offense, but to be fair he's supposed to be a rookie so maybe that will expand as time goes by. For his size he's certainly impressive and is working well. He's clearly in the highest group of these guys and will likely be this season's Danielson. I'd probably put him as a close third right now. He's certainly not going anywhere soon which is a good thing. I like this odd couple pairing actually as he just hates it on camera which actually makes it intereting. I liked the refusal to do the carry thing as his reasoning made sense. He'll be fine and Laycool have the bitch down perfectly so I'm looking forward to seeing him at the end of the competition.

 

[The Best At What I Do]

I was going to make a separate thread about this but nobody cares about the NXT section here, most likely because nobody seems to care about NXT itself. Anyways, I was just wondering am I the only one surprised that the WWE is allowing Senshi to use the Warrior's Way as his finisher? I was really expecting him to just continually miss it throughout the "season" and prolong his losing streak a la Daniel Bryan Danielson.

 

[JGlass]

I was going to make a separate thread about this but nobody cares about the NXT section here, most likely because nobody seems to care about NXT itself. Anyways, I was just wondering am I the only one surprised that the WWE is allowing Senshi to use the Warrior's Way as his finisher? I was really expecting him to just continually miss it throughout the "season" and prolong his losing streak a la Daniel Bryan Danielson.

I'm not surprised they're letting him use it. It's a dangerous move, but it's not as dangerous as the piledriver, though the WWE management may give him a hard time about his botch last night.

I agree with KB, number one is too high for a guy who just won his first match last night, and hasn't been overly impressive in his other bouts. Clearly the internets got out and voted for him this week. I'm sure this will die off though as Riley shines through.

I am, however, interested to see if another heel will win this year, or if the WWE will give a face a shot at winning. Probably depends on who's holding the championship belts towards the end of the season.

 

[Goliath Uterus]

I thought Kaval has done a pretty damn good job so far, he has managed to somewhat get over from his in ring ability and I'm expecting something to come out of this Mcool/Layla pairing that will help him get over. I'm so excited every time I see Kaval on WWE tv and I'm certain that whether he wins or not, he will earn a spot on the main roster. Some may not see it, but I believe, with the right booking, Kaval can go very far in this company.